John rohlin



'J. RDHLIN.

THILL CUUPLING.

(No Model.)

(Application led June 22, 1898.)

Patented Feb. 7,1899.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN ROHLIN, OF EUREKA, KANSAS,`4 ASSIGNOR TO ED. ADAMS .AND A. E. SHAW, OF SAME PLACE.

THILL-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 619,089, dated February '7, 1899.

Application Iiled June 22, 1898. Serial No. 684,165. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN RoHLIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Eureka, in the county of Greenwood and State of Kan sas, have invented a new and useful Thill-Coupling, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in thill-couplings.

The object ofthe present invention is to improve the construction of thill-couplings and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efiicient device adapted to enable a pole or a pair of shafts to be readily attached to and uncoupled from the running-gear of a vehicle Without removing a bolt or employing a wrench or other tool.

A further object of the invention is to provide a coupling which will be an effective antirattler and in which the natural wear on the pivot will be taken up.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described, i1lustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the locking-block. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the bearing plate or frame. Fig. 6 is a detail view of an iron of a pole.

Like numerals of reference designate corre- .sponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

1 designates a bearing plate or frame extending beneath an axle 2 and. secured to the same by an axle-clip 3 of the ordinary construction, and the said bearing plate or frame, which is provided with a recess to receive the axle and which constitutes a clip-plate, has its front portion enlarged and provided with forwardly-extending parallel arms or ears 4, between which is pivoted an iron 5 of a thill 6. The enlargement forms a shoulder,which i abuts against the front face of the axle, and

the plate or frame, which is provided with perforations to receive the threaded portions of the axle-clip, has its lower face engage by the nuts thereof.

The forwardly-extending sides or arms 4 are provided at their inner faces with bearing-recesses 7 ,which receive the terminals of the pivot portion 8 of the thill-iron, whereby the same is journaled on the frame or plate of the coupling. The bottom of the bearingrecess 7 is flat and the front or outer portion, is rounded to form a bearing, the top wall 9 being extending over the bearing proper and forming a shoulder at the front end of the top of the recess 7.

The journals or pivot of the thill-iron is retained in the bearings at the front of the recesses 7 by a locking-block 10, which is provided with curved faces 11, completing the bearing for the journals or pivot and located opposite the said bearings. The lockingblock, which is slightly tapering, fits in the recesses 7, filling the same with the exception of the portions occupied by the journals, and it is provided with a central depending portion 12,which is located between the sides or arms at a point below the recesses 7. The rear edges of the locking-block conforms to the configuration of the rear walls of the recesses 7, and the block is provided with front and rear recesses 13 and 14, extending from the top of the block to the bottom thereof and located between the sides or arms and providing spaces in which the vsides of a substantially U-shaped spring 15 operates.

The substantially U-shaped spring, which is composed of a front side 16 andarear side 17 and a connecting-bend, serves as an antirattler-spring and also operates to lock the block in the bearing frame or plate. The front side of the spring bears against the thill-iron and takes up any of the natural wear, thereby preventing the device from rattling.

The rear side of the spring is angularly bent at its upper portion to form a projecting shoulder l8,arranged in a horizontal plane when the block is in operative position and engaging a recess 19, formed in the enlargement at the back of the space or opening between the arms and providing an upper shoulder. The upper end of the spring is extend- ,ed forward and upward over the top of the locking-block and the upper terminals of the sides are arranged Vclose together and are IOO 2 61e,os

adapted to be readily compressed by the operator to withdraw the locking-block from the recesses of the sides or arms. In removing the locking-block it is tilted forward slightly on the shoulders formed by the top walls 9, and these shoulders are rounded, as shown, and the front edges of the block are provided with corresponding recesses 20, located above the bearings and receiving the said shoulders, whereby the locking-block may be swung forward readily.

The locking-block, which is arranged within the spring, as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings, is secured to a leaf 2l, arranged within the spring and extending upward from the rear side of the same, at a slight angle thereto. ports the block and enables the sides of the spring to move independently of the same,

and the lower portion of the leaf is extended around the bend of the spring, serving to ytively inexpensive in construction, enables a pair of thills or a pole to be readily attached to and detached from a vehicle, and it dispenses with coupling-bolts and obviates the necessity of employing a wrench in coupling and uncoupling. The spring takes up the natural wear of the parts and forms an effective 'antirattler, and it also operates to retain the block in place.

Changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

What I claim is- 1. A device of the class describedcomprising a frame provided with forwardly-extending arms having bearing-recesses, a couplingiron having journals detachably arranged in the recesses, a metal locking-block fitting in the recesses and engaging the journals to confine the same in the recesses, said block being recessed or cut away at its front portion to provide an intervening lspace between it and the coupling-iron, and a spring mounted on the block and having aleaf or lportion arranged in the space between the block and the coupling-iron, engaging the latter and capable of movement independent of the former, substantially as described.

2. Adevice of the class described comprising a bearing plate or frame provided with forwardly-extending arms having bearing-recesses open at the top, an iron having journals arranged within the bearing-recesses, a block kfitting in the bearing-recesses and conning the journals therein, and a substantially U-shaped spring having its sides ar- The leaf supranged in front and in rear of the block, the front side engaging the iron and the rear side forming a catch, said spring being provided between its sides with a leaf, secured to the block, substantially as described.

3. -A device of the class described comprising a frame having forwardly-extending arms provided with bearing-recesses, a couplingiron having journals arranged within lthe bearing-recesses, a block interlocked with the recesses, engaging the journals of the coupling-iron and recessed or cut away at its front to provide an intervening space between it and the said iron, said block having its back spaced' from the adjacent portion of the frame,

a spring of ysubstantially U shape having its sides arranged in the spaces in advance and in rear of the block, lthe front side engaging the iron and the rear side being provided with an angular bend forming a shoulder and litting in a recess of the frame, and a leaf connectin g the spring with the block and supporting the former, substantially as described.

4. A device of the class described comprising a frame or plate having'forwardly-extending arms provided with bearing-recesses and having a shoulder at the back of the space between the arms, a block, fitting in the bearin g-recesses and closing the entrances thereof to confine the journals of an iron therein, said block being provided at its front and back with recesses, and a substantially U-shaped spring having its sides arranged in advance and in rear of the block and extending above the same in position to be grasped, the rear side of the spring being provided with an angular bend to engage the said shoulder, substantially as described.

5. A device of the class described comprising a frame provided with forwardly-extending arms having bearing-recesses 7 and pro-l vided with top walls 9, the tapering metal block detachably interlocked with the frame and fitting in the recesses thereof, a couplingiron having journals arranged in the bearing-recesses and confined therein by the said block, the latter being recessed or cut away at its front to provide a space between it and the iron, and a spring mounted on the block, engaging the frame to retain the block in the recesses, and having an arm or portion located in the recess or cut-away portion at the front of the block and bearing against the iron, substantially as described.

6. A device ofthe class described comprisinga frame having forwardly-extending arms provided with bearing-recesses, a couplingiron arranged in the bearing-recesses, a block rigidly interlocked with the arms and'engaging the journals of the iron and retaining them in the bearing-recesses, said block having spaces or recesses in front and in rear of it, and a spring carried by the block and havsame and bearing against the coupling-iron and the frame to form an antirztttler and to secure the block in place, said front and rear portions being extended above the block and arranged to be grasped and compressed simultaneously, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

JOHN ROIILIN.

Witnesses:

CHAS. E. MOORE, A. E. SHAW. 

